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From a pool of over 70 films, eight filmmaker teams attended our Films for Good workshop, 23 – 25 July, in Islington, London. Designed by Channel 4 BRITDOC and Working Films UK, the workshop took first steps in developing effective strategic community and audience engagement campaigns for the films, supported by non-traditional distribution strategies. Sarah Mosses, of our team in London, developed some early plans for each film’s campaign with a suggested range of potential partners – including leading NGOs and some corporate brands. We had a mixture of projects from development stage, right through to completion and we emphasized peer learning and active group discussion. Presenters this year included Jess Search (C4 BRITDOC Foundation) and James Franklin (Pixeco) on social networks and online presence, Christo Hird (Dartmouth Films) on the success of End of the Line, Sarah Cropley (Wellcome Trust) on their funding priorities, including tips for applicants, Claire Ebrey (The Co-Operative) on their support for films in communities and David Alberts (What on Earth is Going on?) discussing how brands are getting in on the action. In an evaluation of the weekend, 15 filmmaker team members responded: 13 gave us the highest rating for “overall impression” of the workshop, 2 team members gave us next highest rating. Comments included: “Thank you so much. It was a great weekend, a great initiative and very helpful for any filmmaker. The speakers and facilitators were top class!” “Thanks for a brilliant couple of days in London. It was a real eye opener.” “Thank you for a fantastic workshop at the weekend, I have to say I left feeling totally re-energized and a little wiped, good combo.” Dancing With Hugo Boss from heather leach on Vimeo. Heather Leach’s project Dancing with Hugo Boss explored the real emotions of living with cancer and was supported by an ambitious engagement platform called ‘Sideways’, which will bring in stories from other cancer patients and teach them to use film as a means of therapeutic expression. Amir Amirani’s We Are Many amazed the room with the ambition to seek out all 30 million people who marched against Iraq in 2003. (When we asked folks in the room, “did you march?”, almost all hands went up, from sites around the globe.) Using social media platforms Amir is already sourcing photo’s, videos and personal stories from around the world to include in the final film. We Are Many from Amir Amirani on Vimeo. We will be tracking these projects as they progress and hope to see some of the ideas put into action over the next few months. Most of the teams have already reached out to new organizations following our suggestion; we know they are on a pathway to success and authentic impact.

There is a debate heating up in Kansas about the proposed expansion of the Holcomb Station coal-fired power plant. Proponents of Sunflower Electric Power's plant expansion cite the need to meet the growing load requirement in the region. Opponents argue that Kansas has the nation's second-best wind resource and that in the long run, renewable energy can meet energy requirements at lower cost to rate payers and to the environment. The Kansas Department of Health & Environment's (KDHE) has hosted three public hearings this week to listen to the voices of Kansans. The public commenting remains open through August 15th (unless it is extended). Working Films will host two special screenings of the Center for Investigative Reporting’s documentary Dirty Business: “Clean Coal” and the Battle for Our Energy Future in Lawrence and Wichita. The film will play on Monday, August 9th at 7pm Lawrence Arts Center and is co-hosted by Films For Action.  It will then play in Wichita on Wednesday, August 11th at 7pm at the Murdock Theatre. Both screenings are free and open to the public. Dirty Business actually covered the Elk River Wind Project in Kansas, where Pete Ferrell is one of four landowners leasing the land for the wind mills. He will be part of the post-screening discussions. Also part of the Q&A afterwards includes Scott Allegrucci of The Great Plains Alliance for Clean Energy (GPACE) and Stephanie Cole of Sierra Club Kansas. The discussion will include ideas on how the audience can submit their comments to KDHE before the commenting period is closed on August 15th. The KDHE public commenting process is likely to be the last opportunity to have your voice heard regarding the proposed coal plant and perhaps the best opportunity to influence the state’s – and the nation’s – energy policy. Is your community having a similar debate? Dirty Business will be available for house parties and community screenings in September. Stay tuned!

It’s Wednesday evening after another steamy day on the NC coast, with the temperature still close to 100. I have just poured a crisp, cool glass of white wine, and am scanning the Internet, waiting to hear about Judge Walker’s decision on Prop 8, and the fight to repeal the ban of gay marriages in CA. My cell rings, it’s my (straight) friend Liz, “Hey! We won! I just heard on NPR! They overturned Prop 8.” Wow. While not unexpected, suddenly I am short of breath. Imagine the impact: this decision supports every couple’s right to express their love and commitment. Over the rest of the evening (and one more glass of wine) I explored the Internet, and wanted to share three steps you could take now as this case heads to the US Circuit Court of Appeals. 1) Be proud. Read Judge Walker’s ruling: 136 pages of carefully reasoned, critical rationale for overturning the ban. The US Constitution is alive and robust throughout this document. 2) Read analysis of the decision and watch some excellent news videos from Prop 8 Trial Tracker. 3) Go to Christie Herring’s facebook page for The Campaign, a film in development supported in part by Working Films that shares – with startling insider access, the daily emotional roller coaster of the folks who worked to defeat Prop 8 in the voting booth. They lost that fight. It suddenly looks like the film might have a happier ending. As an out gay man, living in the American South for over 40 years, this decision is intensely personal for me and for thousands of gays and lesbians like me. In his findings, Judge Walker states: In the absence of a rational basis, what remains of proponents’ case is an inference, amply supported by evidence in the record, that Proposition 8 was premised on the belief that same-sex couples simply are not as good as opposite-sex couples. Whether that belief is based on moral disapproval of homosexuality, animus towards gays and lesbians or simply a belief hat a relationship between a man and a woman is inherently better than a relationship between two men or two women, this belief is not a proper basis on which to legislate. In other words, you can’t legislate hate. Suddenly, the universe has tilted a bit in our direction, and for the first time, we are free to imagine a future and a life that fully embraces all the potential for intimacy and happiness with a partner. My faith in the founding principles of this country has just been reclaimed a bit; I am heartened and excited about the possibility of winning this battle, all the way to the Supreme Court. It is, without question, a profound moment in American jurisprudence. But it is also intensely personal.

From a pool of over 60 films, we narrowed the finalists down to eight powerful stories told by committed filmmakers, all attending our Films for Good workshop this weekend, 3 - 25 July, in Islington, London. We designed this workshop with the Channel 4 BRITDOC team to create effective strategic community and audience engagement campaigns for social issue documentaries accepted into the program. We've already developed some ideas for each film’s campaign with a suggested range of potential partners - including leading NGOs as well as some corporate brand partners. Last year, filmmakers said the workshop was "inspirational!", "thrilling" and, most importantly perhaps, "pragmatic". Presenters this year include Jess Search (C4 BRITDOC), Christo Hird (Dartmouth Films), Sarah Cropley (Wellcome Trust), Claire Ebrey (The Co-Operative) and others. Attendance is by invitation only, but watch out for a report out on the week, and the high profile release of each of the films involved. Participating projects include: Planeat Dir. Shelley Lee Davies PLANEAT tells the story of the scientists, farmers and chefs tackling one of the greatest problems of our age, our love affair with meat and dairy. Through an extraordinary personal and mouthwatering culinary journey we discover why it’s bad for our health, the environment, and our planet’s future, and what a balanced diet actually means. Dancing with Hugo Boss Dir. Heather Leach Dancing with Hugo Boss’ is an intensely personal feature documentary that looks at the importance of life, love and mortality. This life affirming film raises issues about coping with cancer, family relationships and a desire to line dance in a pair of Hugo Boss boots! Ping Pong Dir. Hugh Hartford Elders from across the planet compete in the “World over 80s Table Tennis Championships” in Inner Mongolia. 8 characters from 4 continents guide us through the life affirming world of athletics for the over 80 crowd. The Flaw Dir. David Sington What caused the great American financial meltdown of 2007, an event whose consequences will continue to be felt all over the world for years, perhaps decades, to come? The Flaw delves into the history of American capitalism to provide a definitive - and surprising - answer. Calvet Dir. Dominic Allan Jean Marc Calvet has a dark and violent past. Now a successful artist, he must find the son he abandoned in France 12 years ago at the age of six. We Are Many Dir. Amir Amirani Only a few days after 9/11, a small group of peace activists met in London to discuss the potential repercussions of the attack in NY. Little did they know, one small meeting would later grow into a global protest against the planned invasion of Iraq, 30 million strong -- the biggest peace march in human history. Through the first hand testimony of the key figures involved, we will unveil the drama, and magnitude of the events that led up to this historic day, and why its lack of an impact was so troubling. Save us from Saviours Dir. Kat Mansoor They don’t want to be saved. They don’t need rehabilitation. They need rights. This film will follow the campaign of VAMP, an amazing group of Indian sex workers, as they fight for their right to be treated as human beings, and for an end to social stigma. Not on the Label Dir. Rachel Seifert In Mexico, the war on drug trafficking has left over 13,500 dead, with Ciudad Juarez currently having the highest murder rate in the world. This film looks deep behind the motives of the coca growers, Latin politicians and the doctors who have witnessed the negative impact the drug trade has had on people in their communities.

In an OpEd in the New York Daily News, No Impact Man Colin Beavan tackles the connection between our consumption-based economy and the BP oil spill. He opens his piece comparing oil to alcohol: Question: When an alcoholic leaves a bar, gets behind the wheel and drunkenly drives into his third or fourth wreck, do you blame the bartender who served the drinks or the alcoholic who drank them? Now answer this: When a society addicted to greater and greater fossil fuel use experiences what may amount to the largest oil spill in world history - after a growing number of other fossil fuel catastrophes - do you blame the oil company that drilled for the oil or the society that uses it? Colin goes on to provide examples of how we might find ourselves being guilty of over consuming fossil fuels. He states, “Typically, our knee-jerk is to blame the greedy corporations and do-nothing politicians. But how much more could be accomplished if each American accepted that he or she plays a part in the problem and therefore could contribute to the solution?” The No Impact Project challenges us to take a step back and look at our lifestyles to see where we can make less of a carbon foot print on earth by using as little energy as possible. Through the experiment, people realize that they can live fulfilling lives without the things they take for granted everyday. For more information about the No Impact project and to participate in the experiment, visit www.noimpactproject.org. Watch the video below to see the impact of the No Impact Week Project:

Chicken & Egg Pictures and Rooftop Films have joined together to offer a short film grant of $6000 to women filmmakers. Any filmmaker who has ever screened at Rooftop Films, or who has ever applied for or received support from Chicken & Egg Pictures is eligible to apply. For more information on what to include in your application, please visit Chicken & Egg Pictures. Application deadline is August 3, 2010.

One of our former board members, Jon Stout, was recently awarded the 2010 Professional Freedom and Responsibility Award by the Cultural and Critical Studies Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. Jon co-founded Free Speech TV, an organization that works tirelessly to cultivate an informed and active citizenry while promoting voices and perspectives that have been under-represented in commercial media. We’d also like to welcome Jon’s newest addition to his family, Farryn Welkin Barnstead Stout.

A few months ago, Working Films consulted with the filmmakers of A New Kind of Listening and Speaking in Tongues about the redesign of their websites. Their new websites launched just in time for summer and we are impressed by the outcome! See the transformation for yourself by clicking on the before and after images below! A New Kind of Listening BEFORE: AFTER: Speaking in Tongues BEFORE: AFTER: